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Kris Medlen: Wraps up career

by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

Medlen has announced his retirement from professional baseball Sunday, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic Arizona reports.

Aside from a disastrous one-start cameo with Arizona earlier this month, Medlen had spent the entire season at the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate in Reno, where he held a a 5.03 ERA over 34 innings this season. He'll end his 13-year professional career with a 3.33 cumulative ERA over nearly 600 big-league innings between the Braves, Royals and Diamondbacks.

Medlen was up for just one start and got shelled, giving up seven runs on nine hits and four walks in just four innings Friday against Houston. Braden Shipley was promoted to take his place on the roster.

Medlen was shelled for seven runs on nine hits over four innings by the Astros on Friday, striking out four and walking four as the Diamondbacks lost 8-0.

The 32-year-old was called up from the minors before this start with Robbie Ray (oblique) going to the disabled list and he was roughed up in a tough assignment against a talented Astros lineup. Even if he's given the benefit of the doubt based on the matchup, he wasn't pitching particularly well in Triple-A with a 6.00 ERA over his four starts, so there's little reason to expect he'll establish himself as a streaming option regardless of the competition.

As expected, Medlen will join the big-league squad to start Friday's game against the Astros. The 32-year-old last appeared in the majors in 2016 for the Royals, where he produced a 7.77 ERA in six starts for Kansas City. He'll face off with Gerrit Cole in his season debut. To make room for him on the active roster, Silvino Bracho was optioned to Triple-A and Taijuan Walker (elbow) was transferred to tehe 60-day disabled list.

Medlen will start Friday against the Astros, Jack Magruder of FanRagSports.com reports.

With Robbie Ray expected to miss multiple starts with a Grade 2 oblique strain, the Diamondbacks will give Medlen the first opportunity to fill in for him in the rotation. The 32-year-old Medlen hasn't appeared in the majors since 2016 and owns an unremarkable 6.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP through four starts with Triple-A Reno this season, but his prior big-league experience likely influenced the Diamondbacks' decision. Arizona will have to clear a spot for Medlen on its 40-man roster prior to Friday's game, which can easily be done by transferring Taijuan Walker (elbow) to the 60-day DL. With Medlen lining up against the defending World Series Champions, Friday may be a good opportunity to stack bats against the veteran right-hander.